Amy McGarrity, PERA’s Deputy Chief Investment Officer, has been appointed to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Investor Advisory Group for the 2015-2018 term. McGarrity joins 21 other national leaders to provide views and advice on broad policy issues and other matters that impact investors.

The PCAOB aims to improve audit quality, reduce the risks of auditing failures in the U.S. public securities market, and promote public trust in both the financial reporting process and auditing profession.

What is the PCAOB?

The PCAOB oversees the audits of public companies, working to protect the interests of investors by promoting informative, accurate, and independent audit reports. The PCAOB also oversees the audits of broker-dealers to promote investor protection.

Created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (which was amended by Dodd-Frank in 2010), the PCAOB is a nonprofit corporation established by Congress. Prior to Sarbanes-Oxley, the auditing profession had been self-regulated. For the first time, the law required oversight of external and independent auditors of U.S. public companies.

The five members of the PCAOB Board are appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after consultation with the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury.

The SEC has oversight authority over the PCAOB, including the approval of the Board’s rules, standards, and budget.

“Colorado PERA has a strong history with the PCAOB, and I am pleased to be the second representative from Colorado PERA to serve on a PCAOB advisory committee,” said McGarrity. “We look forward to our continued participation in the discussion surrounding audit standards and their relevancy to investors.”

McGarrity oversees the risk, compliance, performance and investment operations functions for Colorado PERA, in addition to the Opportunity Fund asset class. She also serves as a global equity analyst and co-portfolio manager for Colorado PERA’s $1.3 billion internally-managed active global portfolio. Previously, McGarrity was the Chief Investment Officer for the Denver Public Schools Retirement System. She has also held prior investment positions at Buck Consultants, Prima Capital Holding, William M. Mercer Investment Consulting, and Caxton Corporation. McGarrity is a CFA charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Colorado.

Previously, Colorado PERA Chief Investment Officer Jennifer Paquette served on the PCAOB Standing Advisory Committee.

Read the news release.